tate donovan

Steve Carell played bumbling, fumbling boss Michael Scott on 'The Office' for seven seasons, but now that Michael has left Dunder Mifflin, who'll take over?

Last season we met Deangelo Vickers, played by Will Ferrell, but he was hardly worthy of inheriting the Scranton branch throne. We also saw Creed get bumped up to acting manager based on seniority, but again, there's no way that's the long-term solution.

In the Season 7 finale, possible replacements were interviewed, including James Spader, Jim Carrey, Will Arnett, Ray Romano and our favorite pick of them all, British comedian Catherine Tate. But will any of them really take the job?

We rounded up a few other smart and funny people for the gig, people we'd love to see eventually win a Dundie -- including two old TV 'Friends,' a sci fi favorite and a fabulously funny female who'd bring inappropriate 'Office' hijinks to a whole new level.

Seems like the future isn't looking too super for two members of the 'No Ordinary Family' cast. According to the Ausiello Files, series regulars Tate Donovan and Christina Chang are leaving the ABC superhero drama as a result of post-pilot retooling.

"It was strictly a story-line-related decision," an unnamed 'Ordinary' source told Ausiello, maintaining that producers of the show hope to bring the pair back on a guest-star basis, depending on their schedules.

(S03E13) "When I die, I don't want to be buried and put in the ground. I want to be cremated ... I want my ashes scattered here." - Patty to Ellen, as the two of them stand on the dock at Patty's cottage

If this is indeed the end for 'Damages,' it seems like a pretty nice way to go out. Sony is still in talks with DirectTV to work out a deal to save the show, and I can visualize it moving forward. But it would definitely be a re-boot, now that Tom Shayes is out of the picture.

(S03E12) "I can only think of one. Turn the Tobins against each other, because we won't find the money unless we tear that family apart." - Patty to Ellen, after Ellen said there must be another angle they can play, now that Tessa is dead.

Hoo boy. You know the end of 'Damages' is near (next week is the finale), because a lot happened in this episode to tie things together. Not everything, but a lot. And I love how near the end, they put the emphasis on "3. Days. Later." If they'd used a drama button in this episode, it would have been there. Well, follow me after the jump and we'll see if we can piece this freaky puzzle together.

(S03E11) "I'm not your mother, Ellen, if that's what you were thinking." - Ann Connell

Well, my goodness. Louis Tobin's Ponzi scheme seems like small potatoes now, doesn't it? Joe Tobin was worried about having to live out his father's crime-ridden legacy? No worries on that; Joe's creating his own twisted legacy all by himself.

And Marilyn Tobin - gack! She's willing to waste her own granddaughter for the sake of what? A few bucks? 'All That Crap About Your Family' is a great title for this episode.

(S03E10) "Your Honor, when I find the Tobins' money, nobody's gonna care how I did it." -- Patty Hewes to a judge who cautions her on working outside the boundaries of his courtroom

This was sort of an even-keeled episode of 'Damages,' in that nothing particularly earth-shattering happened. Well, I guess the escalating dysfunction of Lenny and his dad could be considered earth-shattering, though not unexpected. One of those two is going down, either physically (Lenny will send a thug to take out his dad) or emotionally (his dad will reveal Lenny's elaborate hoax of a life). I can't wait to find out which way it goes.

His 'Damages' character, Tommy Shayes, may have gotten whacked earlier this year, but Tate Donovan's career is alive and kicking.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the veteran actor, who's had a hand in several seminal TV series, including 'The O.C.' (as problem-plagued pop, Jimmy Copper) and 'Friends' (as real-life ex Jennifer Aniston's crush, Josh-u-a), has been tapped to star in an ABC pilot called 'No Ordinary Family.'

Hmmm ... such cryptic messages in this week's episode of 'Damages.' First the wacky dream. Dreaming about a horse in your home probably isn't so crazy, unless you're Patty Hewes and the dream includes bloody hands and feet.

Let's analyze: Patty harking back to a more innocent childhood perhaps? Nah, too straightforward. Maybe the horse signifies Danielle's child, and Ellen's message that "it's a big responsibility" and "are you sure you're ready for it" denotes Patty's willingness to take care of Danielle and her child. Well, just the child now. The "blood on her hands" isn't so hard to figure out, but her feet? It must suck to be Patty with all that running around in her head.

(S03E04) There was family dysfunction all around in this episode of 'Damages.' We had Patty dealing with her son, Ellen dealing with her sister (and jerk of a dad), Tom dealing with his in-laws (who seem like very sweet people), and the ongoing strife within the Tobin family.

And swirling around it all was Patty Hewes, who always knows more than she lets on -- but maybe not enough, as evidenced by her phone call to ... someone in that least scene.

Educational it was, both for Patty Hewes and viewers alike, as last night's 'Damages' proved that it can tell one helluva narrative without any of those pesky "six months from now" flashes. 'Flight's at 11:08' isn't the first episode to put the back and forth, past/present/future jumps on the back-burner, but it is the earliest it's happened in a season. Normally, those narrative devices don't fade away until the climactic moment later in the season when everything collides. What we got instead was a bit of different angle for 'Damages' as last night's episode was driven by the characters and not the over-arching plot.

The questions kept flying tonight on 'Damages' as details from last week's stunning revelation continued to unfold -- in six months time, Tom Shayes is a dead man and now we have a better idea as to why. The only problem with that? There are still eleven episodes left, and assuming this season plays out like the first two, we're gonna have to wait until the last possible second for answers. Fortunately for us, there's plenty of other plots playing out as well.

What happened on this week's 'Damages' season 3 episode 1, 'Your Secrets Are Safe' -- in 100 words or less.

Another complex season of 'Damages' is off and running! This time the flash-forward six months involves Patty Hewes, being questioned by the cops after a vehicle collision. Now we get to wonder all season the answers to several questions.

(S03E01) "Do you think this could have been done to you on purpose?" - Det. Vic Huntley

Patty Hewes for the people? No way. In tonight's season three premiere of Damages, Patty (Glenn Close) may have been appointed by the government to recover billions of stolen assets from scheming financier Louis Tobin (Len Cariou), but let's be honest here -- this is Patty Hewes.

When her name is on the line, you better believe that's all that matters. She's set on finding all that money, but it's to make her look good and has nothing to do with the welfare of Tobin's thousands of victims. With a stellar record as of late (Frobisher and UNR), losing this battle would be a huge blow to Patty's public image. So, knowing all that, what do you think about Det. Huntley's question now? Could someone have tried to kill Patty on purpose?

Season three of the hit FX show 'Damages' premieres Monday, Jan. 25, at 10 PM ET. The legal thriller has a history of making us think things are going one way, and then spinning the story in a completely different direction.

The season two finale is a good example of that. All season long, we'd been teased about a showdown between Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) and Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). But did it turn out the way you thought it would?

If you haven't watched season two yet, read no further. Spoilers after the jump.